Rishard Matthews, Wide Receiver
The Oakland Raiders desperately need some receiving talent around Derek Carr. After dealing Amari Cooper for a first round pick, the Raiders head into 2019 with just Jordy Nelson, Marcell Ateman, Seth Roberts and Keon Hatcher under contract.
Even with Cooper for a portion of the year, Oakland finished 18th in the NFL with 4,057 receiving yards and tied 24th with 19 receiving touchdowns. Take away tight end Jared Cook’s 896 yards and six scores and the Raiders fall to 30th in receiving yards and tied 32nd in receiving touchdowns.
The 2019 NFL Draft is full of potential game-changing receivers. Guys like Marquise Brown, D.K Metcalf and A.J. Brown all could help elevate the Raiders’ passing game. Yet even with all that potential talent, it’s also important for the team to land some veterans to their receiving core.
One sleeper option could be former Dolphin, Titan and Jet Rishard Matthews.
Matthews didn’t play much in 2018, only appearing in eight games and catching five passes. However, prior to this past season, Matthews caught 255 passes for 3,316 yards and 21 touchdowns. From 2015-2017, Matthews had a yard per catch average of at least 14.5 yards.
In 2017, his 15 yards per catch ranked 18th in the NFL. In 2016, Matthews caught nine touchdowns, tied for sixth in the league. Since the start of the 2016 season, Matthews has caught 30 passes for 20+ yards. Heading into the 2018 season, that number tied was tied with Buccaneers’ receiver Mike Evans and just four less than fellow Bucs’ wide-out DeSean Jackson and Seahawks’ receiver Doug Baldwin.
Matthews has solid 6’0″ height and ran a decent 4.6 at his combine. He would be able to function as a chain mover and a great red zone threat in the Raiders’ offense. If Oakland were able to get a burner like Hollywood Brown in the draft, pairing him with Matthews could open up the field and create explosive plays for both players.
Matthews is somewhat of an afterthought after not playing much in 2018. However, he has proven he has NFL ability while on the field. In a weak WR free agent class headlined by players such as Larry Fitzgerald and Devin Funchess, Matthews could be a sneaky addition to help shore up the Raiders’ receiving core.
